The Domini saga

The raiders are still behind you when dawn thins the darkness. Their calls fade and return across the wash as Kynes, Bren, Slaan, and Nhal keep moving on foot.

At a weathered milestone, the road divides. One branch bears fresh boot marks leading east. The other, a narrow cart track, bends north toward the next small town.

A strip of grey cloth is knotted around the milestone, its spider mark turned toward the eastern road. It is not a signal calling the raiders onward. It is a handoff marker, making the obvious route look like the true one.

Behind you, hoofbeats strike the wash, then veer east toward the false trail. The raiders take the bait. The northward track remains open, but its wheel ruts are fresh enough to promise that someone used it recently.

The hoofbeats diminish along the eastern trail. In the brief quiet, Kynes draws the second grey cloth from his pocket dimension and lays it beside the strip Bren took from the milestone.

The two scraps share the same coarse weave, but not the same age. The older cloth carries a faint residue of road dust and grave-cold; the newer strip bears that pattern only as a deliberate imitation.

Kynes's scrutiny reveals the similarity is practical, not arcane. Both are cut from the same marked bolt, and the spider has been stitched to indicate direction, not ownership or a spell.

Nhal lowers from violet mist to solid form and studies the fresh ruts. One wheel has a chipped rim, leaving a repeated crescent in the dust. Slaan follows it with her eyes until the track disappears behind a rise.

Kynes folds the newer grey cloth away into his pocket dimension, leaving no scrap exposed in the morning air.

With a deft movement, he drops the spider-stitched maker back onto the milestone, angled toward the eastern trail. It settles among the dust as if it has never been touched.

Therefore the party turns north, keeping to the open track while the false trail carries the raiders away. Their cover remains intact, and the road ahead stays clear.

Kynes tousles Nhal’s drifting hair wisps as they walk. The shadowy strands spring back into place.

Her offended look softens into a crooked smile, and the party keeps its steady northward pace.

Kynes delivers the tease in a fatherly tone, and Nhal’s offended posture falters beneath the warmth of it.

Her retort loses its edge. She drifts closer to the walking line, amused rather than affronted, while the road climbs toward the ridge.

At the crest, the north road drops toward a small town marked by thin cooking smoke. Far east, dust trails after the raiders, confirming the false marker still holds their attention.

Below, a lone pack mule noses through roadside grass beside the chipped-wheel ruts. Its empty harness bears a torn grey thread, and it lifts its head at the party’s approach.

Kynes leaves the road and circles the animal with the others. The chipped wheel ruts, the empty harness, and the torn grey thread match the stablehand's report. This is the stolen pack mule.

The mule recognizes Bren's offered reins, but its sudden bray rolls across the open slope. Far behind them, dust shifts on the eastern road, and a faint answering call rises from the ridge.

Kynes runs his senses over the mule from ears to hooves, reading its breath, harness marks, and the faint residue of recent handling. No spell clings to it. No compulsion guides its steps.

Bren gathers the reins and lowers her voice. The mule follows when she turns north, its hooves finding the rutted track without resistance.

The party moves toward the town below. Behind them, the eastern dust thickens, then pauses at the ridge where the false trail ends.

The mule keeps north beside Bren, spell-free and reclaimed, while the first rider’s silhouette turns toward the slope. The town remains ahead, its gate still distant.

Kynes keeps his voice low and his pace measured, guiding the mule along the northbound ruts without a snapped twig or clattering buckle.

Therefore, Nhal sinks into the roadside shadows and watches the ridge without signaling. The riders remain east, following the abandoned marker instead of the party.

Bren adjusts the packs as the ground levels. The mule settles into a quiet walking rhythm, carrying the recovered supplies while its loose harness no longer betrays their passage.

The party reaches the first fields outside the town, concealed progress intact. Ahead, a bell sounds from the gate, and a farm track divides from the road.

Kynes turns the party onto the farm track, leaving the town gate and its closing bell behind. The mule follows between Bren and the hedgerow.

The track bends around the outer fields and enters a small stable yard within the town. A stable hand looks up as the mule's hoof strikes a loose stone.

The stable hand accepts the explanation and takes the loose reins, leading the mule toward an empty stall. The party has reached the next small town, but the sharp hoof-clatter draws two curious faces to the yard window.

Beyond the hedge, Nhal raises two fingers toward the eastern ridge, then points toward the town road. The diverted riders remain distant, but their dust is still visible.